WWF Monday Night RAW: Live.
HOUR ONE: Hosted by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler.
- THE ROAD WARRIORS vs. SAVIO VEGA/CRUSH
Both Ahmed Johnson and Faarooq (along with his Nation of Domination) have
been barred from ringside. We get some brief split-screen comments from
Ahmed, then an incredibly racist rant from Faarooq. (He tells Ahmed to
bring all the help he can, then repeats it using "Ebonics" so that Ahmed
will "understand it"). They also show footage of Faarooq getting attacked
by the NOD at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
There wasn't too much of a match here-pretty much all brawling. A few
minutes in we learn that Faarooq has left the lockerroom. They cut to
Ahmed and ask if he's concerned. Before he can say to much he's attacked
from behind by Faarooq. Faarooq beats him to the ground with a nightstick
before he's chased away by WWF officials. Back in the ring, just as the
Road Warriors are getting the upper hand Faarooq runs in, causing the DQ.
The entire Nation stomps on the LOD until Faarooq runs in for the save.
Faarooq Pearl River Plunges one of PG-13, then the Warriors do their
clothesline off the top rope to D-Lo Brown.
The crowd was really into this one.
- They run a Slammy Awards promo, with this award being the "Larry Flynt
Freedom of Speech" award. Paul E. Dangerously is one of the nominees.
This constituted the sole mention of ECW on the show. Also nominated were
Lawler, Steve Austin and Howard Stern. The Slammys will be on the USA
Network Friday night at 11:00 PM Eastern time.
- McMahon, Lawler and Ross speak about tonight's main event. Supposedly
there is some kind of a complication, and it may or may not be a World
Title match. The match will take place though. President Gorilla Monsoon
will appear later to explain things. (If you ask me, this all was just
a bit of "mystery" thrown in to keep viewers tuned in). It's also
rumored that Shawn Michaels is on his way to the arena.
- HUNTER HEARST HELMSLEY (w/ Chyna) vs. FLASH FUNK (w/ The Funkettes)
The two start of ... oh, I'd say at about half speed. Funk takes the
early advantage, but Helmsley reverses a leapfrog into a backdrop to take
command. Vince gives away the ending of the entire show (sort of) by
mentioning that "La Femme Nikita" will be seen in it's entirety following
RAW (inferring that RAW will again run long). Helmsley drops a knee, then
moves Funk into the corner. Funk comes back with a few blows of his own.
He then reels off a series of offensive maneuvers, ending with a legdrop
off the top. He only gets a two count. Funk then gets into an argument
with Chyna at ringside. Helmsley moves in and applies a belly-to-back
suplex, but Funk kicks out of the pin. Helmsley comes off the top rope,
but Funk meets him with a kick to the jaw. Funk hits a side suplex, then
heads over to the corner to deliver an aerial move. Chyna jumps up on the
apron to argue with him again. This again allows Helmsley to move in and
deliver the Pedigree for the win.
The crowd was pretty much behind Flash, but Helmsley had his fans too
(ugh). Post-match he and Chyna stomp on Funk.
She's called Chyna because she's delicate.
- Shawn Michaels arrives in the arena.
- MINI MANKIND/MINI VADER vs. MINI GOLDUST/MASCARITA SAGRADA JR.
They first show footage of a press conference in which it's announced
that the state of New Jersey has struck down a law on their books that
imposed an extra stiff tax on pro-wrestling events in that state.
Governor Christine Todd Whitman appeared, alongside the Undertaker. This
means that a future taping of RAW (which from now on will apparently be
called the "War Zone"), as well as SummerSlam 1997, will be held there.
These minis are dead-on replicas of the originals-especially Mini
Goldust. Sagrada Jr. is a real blast to watch. The match is fairly short
and the highlights include a great offensive flurry by Sagrada Jr. and
a senton from the apron to the floor by mini Goldust onto Mini Vader.
Mascarita Sagrada Jr. wins the match by hitting Mini Mankind with a
forward victory roll into a pin. After the match Sagrada Jr. chases Mini
Vader up the ramp to the stage beneath the jumbo screen. He pushes Vader
off the stage, several feet to the floor, then follows with a suicide
crossbody (which got a real pop from the crowd). Short, but fun to watch.
- Gorilla Monsoon says that although there have been a lot of rumors
flying about, tonight's Sid/Bret Hart steel cage match will indeed be for
the title. McMahon states the viewpoint of the Undertaker's fans, who
think the 'Taker is getting a raw deal. Monsoon tries to defend Hart, but
McMahon seems to be siding with the Undertaker (and his fans) in this
one. Hmmmm ...
- Bret Hart comes out for an interview. He says the WWF's new motto is "You
scratch my back, I'll stab yours!" He talks about the Undertaker, Steve
Austin and Ken Shamrock. He guarantees a title victory tonight. McMahon
makes a point of mentioning the "checkered response" of the fans.
- Rocky Maivia comes up for color commentary.
- THE SULTAN (w/ Mr. Bob Backlund & Iron Sheik) vs. MIKE BELL(?)
The Sultan puts him away quickly with the Camel Clutch. They then come
over and taunt Maivia. Rocky stands to accept their challenge, but is
held back by Tony Atlas who slips in from out of nowhere.
HOUR TWO: Hosted by Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler.
- Shawn Michaels comes out and in a lengthy, upbeat interview states that
he will probably be returning in a few months, then goes on to invite
himself to WrestleMania and the Slammy Awards. That ought to quiet the
"Shawn's going to WCW" rumors.
- VADER (w/ Paul Bearer & Mankind) vs. THE BRITISH BULLDOG (w/ Owen Hart)
Owen shows an undue amount of interest in the Bulldog's European Title
belt, helping him hold it aloft. The Bulldog actually has to pull it away
from him.
Vader starts off tossing the Bulldog around fairly easily. The Bulldog
comes back with a shoulderblock, clothesline, then a thoroughly
impressive vertical suplex shortly thereafter. Vader is then clotheslined
over the top rope and they go to a break.
Vader is now in command. The Bulldog is down on the mat in the corner and
Vader lands a splash off the second turnbuckle. Bulldog kicks out at two.
The Bulldog hits Vader with a crossbody block. He then tries a crucifix
rollup, but Vader drops down on the Bulldog, smashing him beneath his
shoulders. Vader splashes for a cover, but only gets the two count. Vader
drops the Bulldog with a short clothesline, then goes up for another
corner splash. The Bulldog catches him mid-air and turns it into a
powerslam. Two clotheslines follow. Vader reverses a whip and sends the
Bulldog into the corner, charges, and is caught. The Bulldog carries
Vader to the center of the ring and slams him. Davey Boy then lays in a
few shots and scoops him up, hoisting Vader across one shoulder. Mankind
jumps up on the apron to help Vader. This brings up Owen and he nails
Mankind. The ref calls for the bell, disqualifying Vader. Mankind and
Vader stomp on Owen until the Bulldog can recover enough to knock out
Paul Bearer, recover Bearer's urn, and nails Vader and Mankind with it.
The Bulldog gets the win, and this weekend's Tag Title match just got
that much more interesting.
- Ken Shamrock comes out for color commentary.
- BILLY GUNN vs. ERIN FERGUSON(?)
Gunn puts the jobber away with a terrible armbar submission hold. Gunn
then taunts Shamrock into getting in the ring. Shamrock, refusing to
turn down a challenge, goes into a UFC style stance (which draws a
chuckle from Gunn). Gunn closes in and Ken takes him down with an armbar.
Billy screams to be released, then says he wants another try. They again
lock up and Shamrock drops him to the mat and ties up Billy's ankle. Gunn
taps out, then backs away from the ring saying it's not over between the
two. I think we've seen Shamrock's first opponent after WrestleMania.
Shamrock metamorphoses from his usual laid back, smiling self to a fairly
intense attitude towards Gunn. Gunn grabs a chair, but does nothing with
it.
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin comes on the jumbo screen and says he's not at
all impressed with Shamrock, and again warns him to call the Submission
Match at WrestleMania down the middle. He goes on to say he's in the
arena tonight to make sure Hart wins the title.
- Sycho Sid delivers comments from the back, warning Austin to keep his
nose out of the match tonight.
- BRET "HITMAN" HART vs. SYCHO SID
Hart and Sid had fought this same match over the last week or so in house
shows, and from what I hear they've been mediocre at best; just plain
miserable at worst. This one fell somewhere in between.
For the first few minutes they do nothing more than trade punches. Steve
Austin is shown watching the match via monitor in the back. Hart is the
first to try and escape, but is hauled back down by Sid. Sid scoops up
Hart and slams him against the cage, then takes his time climbing up the
cage wall. Hart eventually gets over to Sid and the two dispiritedly
trade blows on the top rope. Hart is dropped, straddling the ropes. Sid
moves over and kicks him in the head. Sid climbs down and Hart hits him
with an elbow. Bret then tries to escape but is again caught by Sid. Sid
bodyslams him off the top turnbuckle, in the first high impact move of
the match. Sid heads to the door, but Hart takes him down below the
knees. Before Sid can crawl over to the door, Steve Austin comes out and
slams it shut.
Back from a break and Hart briefly has control of things, but Sid
maneuvers Hart into a powerbomb. (Austin is outside the cage cheering
Hart on). Sid climbs to the top of the cage. Austin climbs up on the
outside and the two sit upon the top, wailing on each other. (I should
note that this really had the crowd going, but I'm not sure who they were
more behind). Hart eventually makes his way up also and he and Austin
pound on Sid from both sides.
Suddenly the Undertaker runs out, which raises the decibel level even
more. The Undertaker climbs the cage and goes after Hart. Sid after a
while is able to knock Austin off the cage. Hart is waiting for Sid
though, and suplexes him off the top turnbuckle. The Undertaker climbs
down and is met by Steve Austin with a chair. Austin, sensing victory for
Hart, raises his arms in triumph and leaves. Sid starts climbing the cage
as Hart approaches the door. Hart reaches the doorway, leans through,
pauses, and is nailed by the door as the Undertaker streaks over and
slams it shut. On the opposite side of the ring, Sid drops to the floor
and is declared the winner. The crowd seems generally okay with the
decision.
After another break we see Hart still in the ring-the cage walls having
been partially dismantled. McMahon enters for an interview. He begins the
usual "you must be frustrated" type of question, but Hart cuts him off by
shoving him to the mat. "Frustrated isn't the goddamn word for it ...
this is bulls#!t!" McMahon gets to his feet and exits the ring, not even
attempting to speak to Hart. "You screwed me ... everybody screwed me ...
and nobody does a goddamn thing about it!" Hart screams about injustice
and how nobdy, Monsoon and McMahon included, does anything about it.
McMahon has a look of utter disgust on his face. The crowd starts to go
quiet, especially when Hart reels off the "Best there is, etc." line.
Looking directly at the crowd, Hart says " ... and if you don't like it,
tough s#!t!" By now the crowd, except for a few diehard fans, have
stopped cheering for Hart (but no "boo's" as of yet). Austin then comes
on the jumbo screen and chastises Hart for blowing the match. Jim Ross
tries to make apologies to the viewing audience. Austin calls Hart a
loser. Hart says Austin is called "Sone Cold" because "your stones are so
cold that you're afraid to come out here and fight me." Sycho Sid then
comes back out down the ramp. Hart yells how everyone knows he's the best
man. "I don't know s#!t!" yells Sid.
By this time we've run over the top of the hour and a scrawl runs across
the bottom of the screen saying "La Femme Nikita" will follow in it's
entirety. McMahon begins to make profuse apologies. Sid enters the ring
and he and Hart circle each other. The Undertaker then comes back out and
just as he reaches ringside Hart dives through the rope, crashing into
him. They scuffle on the floor until Austin arrives, then he and Hart go
at it. Meanwhile Sid and the Undertaker tangle as well. The ring fills
with officials, but the Undertaker chases them off. Hart and Austin brawl
up the ramp and Hart punches Pat Patterson. McMahon goes nuts, calling
Hart a "no good dirty son-of-a ... " before he regains control of
himself.
Just when it looked like things couldn't get any wilder, Shawn Michaels
comes to the top of the ramp to survey the chaos. He makes his way to the
ring and grabs a section of pipe uses in holding the cage together, but
Pat Patterson seems to talk him into dropping it. He then slides in the
ring to watch all four men brawling up the ramp. He finally slides out
and grabs a chair, but that's when the show ends.
- Next week's main event: None mentioned.
Comments: Definitely an energy packed show, but it fell far short of blowing
me away (like last week). They did do an excellent job of promoting
WrestleMania though (at last). Every second of this show got you looking
towards the PPV (with the possible exception of the whole Rocky Maivia/
Sultan angle).
The Mexican minis match was good, but far too brief. Vader/Bulldog was an
okay match. Other than that, the card only served to hype WrestleMania.
There's a lot of talk on the 'Net about Hart doing a shoot. I doubt it.
Apparently the WWF is claiming it's a shoot, which is probably the best
evidence against it being one. The WWF is also supposedly taking a lot of
heat from the USA Network, as well as the FCC for the strong language used.
I doubt this also. What Hart said isn't even close to being something the
FFC concerns itself with. As for the USA Network, if they had a problem with
the footage, why did they air it unedited three hours later on the tape
delayed west coast feed? There was plenty of time to edit it, as Nitro
routinely does in cases like this on their replays. My opinion is that this
whole thing was cleared beforehand by not only McMahon and the WWF, but the
USA Network as well. I can only see one goal in all this: the indomitable
task of turning Bret Hart heel. They took a major step in that direction
tonight.
The total lack of any ECW mention was noticable, but not a surprise on my
part. The WWF needed to hype WrestleMania this week, not Barely Legal. With
over three weeks to go until the ECW PPV, I'd expect them to return at least
once more. As was signalled by last week's show, anything from this point on
will not be an amiable cooperative effort.
Herb Kunze had to have hated this week's main event. He's a great believer
in the steel cage match being used to end feuds. Finishes like this one
cheapen their value. I don't entirely disagree. In this case, I think the
goofy finish and interference is the only thing that saved the match.
This was an okay show, though not great. It was certainly memorable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Quick WCW Uncensored 1997 Recap (3/16/97):
* Dean Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero in a No Disqualification Match for
the United States Heavyweight Title. Syxx of the New World Order came to
ringside to steal the championship belt. Malenko used a videocamera that
Syxx carried to knock out Guerrero for the win.
* Rick Steiner was attacked by the NWO and sent to the hospital.
* Ultimo Dragon defeated Psychosis by pinfall following a Tiger Suplex.
* Mean Gene Okerlund interviewed Diamond Dallas Page. Randy Savage brought
out an issue of Playboy with a centerfold featuring Kimberly, the
Diamond Doll. Kimberly came out, covered in spraypaint, presumably the
work of the NWO. Savage attacked Page, then he and Miss Elizabeth
spraypainted both Page and Kimberly.
* Glacier defeated Mortis in a Martial Arts Match. Glacier was attacked
after the match by Brian Clark, (formerly known as Adam Bomb in the
WWF), who was brought out by James Vandenburgh, the manager of Mortis.
* "Buff" Bagwell defeated Scotty Riggs in a Leather Strap Match.
* The Harlem Heat defeated the Public Enemy in a Texas Tornado Match.
Steve "Mongo" McMichael of the Four Horsemen interfered on the Heat's
behalf, knocking out Rocco Rock with his briefcase.
* Prince Iaukea defeated Rey Mysterio Jr. Match went to a fifteen minute
time limit. Both men requested additional time and Iaukea reversed a
huracanrana into a pin.
* The New World Order defeated Team WCW and Team Piper in the main event
elimination match. Wrestlers could be eliminated via pinfall,
submission, disqualification, countout, or being thrown over the top
rope. Most eliminations were of the "over the top rope" variety. Team
WCW was one man short due to Rick Steiner's injury). Approximate order
of elimination:
- The Giant (Team WCW) eliminated himself by missing a clothesline and
going over the top rope.
- Jeff Jarrett (Team Piper) was eliminated.
- Steve McMichael (Team Piper) was eliminated.
- Scott Steiner (Team WCW) was eliminated.
- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (Team Piper) was eliminated when Dennis Rodman (at
ringside) pulled down the top rope as Piper struck them.
- Chris Benoit (Team Piper) was eliminated by the Outsiders, Scott Hall
and Kevin Nash.
- Randy "Macho Man" Savage (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger.
- Kevin Nash (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger.
- Scott Hall (Team NWO) was eliminated by Lex Luger.
- "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan won the match after Rodman and Savage
interfered.
Sting then descended from the ceiling and attacked the NWO with a
baseball bat. He challenged Hogan to enter the ring and knocked him out
cold.
WCW Monday Nitro: Live.
HOUR ONE: Hosted by Tony Schiavone & Larry Zbyszko.
- The show kicks off with a brief clip from the end of Uncensored featuring
Dennis Rodman spraypainting "NWO" on Lex Luger's back.
- PSYCHOSIS vs. REY MYSTERIO JR.
They spend the first minute or so down on the mat grappling, trying
pinfall attempts on each other.
They cut to a shot of Sonny Onoo and Ultimo Dragon doing the Japanese
commentary for the WCW web site. Dragon, who isn't wearing his mask, has
to cover his face with his hand so we can't see it.
I'm not going to try a play-by-play here, but suffice it to say that even
though they didn't do all that much that waws new, they did it better
than they have in other recent matches. Rey uses the same old finisher
again (which is ironic, because that's the move that he used on Iaukea at
the PPV-Iaukea reversed it for the win). This was the best match of the
night.
The crowd was really into this one, which was nice to see. If WCW has
done anything with the cruiserweight division, it was to make Mysterio a
legitimate star in the eyes of the U.S. fans. I'll give them that.
- Arn Anderson gives a tremendous, emotional interview. He speaks of
family, of how the Horsemen have been rebuilt, and how he will soon be
undergoing an operation that will lead to his eventual return. He talks
about Kevin Sullivan and his problems, and asks that any hostilities
between Sullivan and the Horsemen be ended. Powerful stuff. I've said it
before and I'll say it again: Arn Anderson is the classiest thing WCW has
going for them these days, and I know they aren't paying him enough.
- Still photos of Kimberly's return and Randy Savage attacking Diamond
Dallas Page.
- DIAMOND DALLAS PAGE vs. MAXX
Page routs Maxx, first hitting a splash off the corner, then turning a
full nelson from Maxx into a Rude Awakening. He finishes him off with the
Diamond Cutter.
Mean Gene Okerlund comes in for an interview. Page admits publicly that
Kimberly is his wife, and that Savage is a dead man. Savage and Elizabeth
show up in the crowd to taunt Page. Savage call himself a "superstar" and
an "icon." He refuses to call Page by name, referring to him as the
"wrestler with no name." They tease a fight and Page takes off into the
crowd after him.
- KONAN/HUGH MORRUS (w/ Jimmy Hart) vs. RENEGADE/"DESPERADO" JOE GOMEZ
Eric Bischoff comes to the desk, interrupting the match. Hall and Nash
are with him. Bischoff announces that the duo will defend the belts later
tonight. The NWO winning the main event gives them the power to challenge
WCW for any title, anytime, anywhere. They interpret this to include
putting their own belts on the line any time they want. This gets around
Bischoff's suspension.
This was a dumb, and slightly disturbing match. Morrus and Konan easily
dominate Gomez. Gomez eventually makes a hot tag and the Renegade cleans
house. He then inexplicably goes over and tags Gomez back in. Gomez can
barely stand, and is flattened by a moonsault from Morrus. After the
match Renegade is shown asking Gomez what went wrong. I said this was
disturbing, and it is if the intention is for these two to split up.
Marcus Bagwell vs. Scotty Riggs is bad enough. Speaking of whom ...
- SCOTTY RIGGS vs. DEAN MALENKO
This one annoyed me as well, since Riggs was allowed to look fairly
good at the expense of Malenko. Dean at times just stood around, or laid
down so that Riggs could get in his handful of offense (it was that
obvious). Malenko wins when Riggs dives at him and Dean ducks. Riggs
drops throat-first across the ropes and Malenko gives him one of those
spinning-ass-twirl victory rolls into a pinfall (ahh ... whatever they're
called).
They also showed a few still shots of Malenko's victory over Guerrero.
After the match Dean tells the camera that he's still looking to get his
Cruiserweight Title back from Syxx.
- LEX LUGER/THE GIANT vs. T. RANTULA(?)/KNUCKLES NELSON
Luger and the Giant are still billed as the World Tag Team Champions.
The Giant wrestles virtually the entire match, tossing the two ham and
eggers around. He chokeslams T. Rantual (or was it just "Tarantula")
and covers for the pin. luger comes in as well to slap Knuckles Nelson
into the Torture Rack. The crowd went absolutely nuts during this one-
go figure.
Mean Gene interviews Luger and the Giant regarding Sting's return to WCW.
They show still photos of Sting attacking the NWO.
- They show stills of Glacier beating Mortis. If you haven't seen him yet,
Mortis looks like Skeletor from "Masters of the Universe." They also show
a still of the latest action figure that came out and attacked Glacier.
- ULTIMO DRAGON (w/ Sunny Onoo) vs. BOBBY EATON
Dragon wins in about a minute.
- "Hollywood" Hogan and most of the rest of the New World Order come out.
Hogan babbles something about the NWO lasting for an eternity. Savage
confirms that he'll fight "Kimberly's husband" at Spring Stampede. Hall
and also announce that they'll put the belts up against the Steiner
Brothers. Hall is then nailed in the head by a drink thrown by a fan.
Hall takes it in stride and slicks his hair back.
This was the best first hour for Nitro in a long time.
HOUR TWO: Hosted by Tony Schiavone, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Mike Tenay.
- They recap the Page/Savage encounter from earlier.
- JEFF JARRETT/STEVE MCMICHAEL (w/ Debra) vs. ALEX WRIGHT/MARK STARR
Good Gawd ... Mongo may be improving! He still can't string moves
together, but he's starting to learn how to wrestle as part of a tag
team. Mongo clips Starr's leg from behind, then knocks Wright from the
ring apron as Jarrett applies the figure four for the win.
Before Jarrett and Mongo can leave the ringside area, the Public Enemy
come out (with a garbage can) and attack them. Debra hits Johnny Grunge
with the briefcase. All four men brawl down the aisle until the P.E. are
chased off. Mean Gene comes over and interviews the trio.
During the match they showed some stills from the Public Enemy/Harlem
Heat match, along with the Horsemen's interference, from Uncensored.
- Lee Marshall phones in from Duluth, Minnesota. I'd go to this card, but
there's no way I'll drive 150 miles to see WCW again.
- SCOTT "FLASH" NORTON vs. CHAVO GUERRERO JR.
Why do they save this crap for the second hour? Norton wins easily and
fairly quickly with a powerbomb.
- They show another pretaped clip of Hogan and Dennis Rodman. This one
lasts fifty seconds. Rodman says Hogan is his friend, and that the NWO is
for real. Hogan does all the rest of the talking.
- THE OUTSIDERS (w/ Syxx) vs. "MEAN" MIKE ENOS/BUNKHOUSE BUCK
Hall, Nash and Syxx make utter fools of themselves singing the "Bad Boys"
theme song from "Cops."
Buck gets creamed for awhile, then Nash throws him into the corner to tag
in Enos. Hall comes back in and looks on the verge of putting Enos away,
but Enos and Buck rally. An upset is teased. Nash finally comes back in
stops the comeback. Buck gets dumped out of the ring and Hall Outsider
Edges Enos for the win.
I may have been seeing things, but Hall looked pissed that he had to
stretch the match out, and he didn't seem to react well to some of Enos'
offense. A few of "Mean" Mike's shots looked a little stiff, or off the
mark enough to actually hurt.
- They show a clip of an interview Piper did at Uncensored. Piper was upset
because he was promised "Horsemen," but got "mares" instead (Jarrett,
Mongo and Benoit). Piper apparently thought Flair and Anderson would be
on his team. He also was upset that team WCW let him down by being one
man short.
- CHRIS BENOIT (w/ Woman) vs. BILLY KIDMAN
Benoit puts the kid away in less than a minute with an STF type maneuver.
Ric Flair comes out. Mean Gene asks Benoit about Anderson's comments from
earlier. Benoit advises Kevin Sullivan to step back and assess his life
and career. Woman says she has nothing to add. Flair then says that his
Horsemen came through at Uncensored, and that it was Piper that dropped
the ball. He puts forth the opinion that maybe Piper should go home to
his family. It's either that, or be like the Horsemen and party all
night.
- THE STEINER BROTHERS vs. HARLEM HEAT (w/ Sister Sherri)
Michael Buffer ("let's get ready to rumbleeeee!") introduces the two
teams.
This started out fairly well, actually. In fact, it had all the earmarks
of being a very solid match. About three or four minutes in, though, the
NWO invade the ring. Hogan and his gang stomp the Steiners and Heat,
paying particular attention to Rick Steiner's damaged ear. They are saved
by Luger and the Giant. As the two forces square off (WCW in the ring,
NWO in the aisle) an explosion and flash of light appear in the rafters
and Sting drops to the center of the ring on a cable. The crowd goes wild
as Sting climbs the corner and points his baseball bat at Hogan. "He
pointed at me! He pointed at me!" Hogan cries, huddling with "Buff"
Bagwell for support.
- Next week's main event: None announced.
Comments: Not really a bad Nitro, but so much of it was squashes and one
sided matches. The first hour was much better than the second. This week
they only barely delivered their advertised main event. Even if I credit
them with that, it's still something like only once in the last five or six
weeks that they've shown their advertised main event.
The Savage/Page feud could have some real heat to it. For it to happen would
mean that Savage really isn't a spy for Sting like a lot of people think.
The P.E./Horsemen feud seems to have been pulled out of thin air. I know,
I've seen what's led up to it. What they haven't explained is why all this
has happened.
Could they be setting up a Piper/Flair feud? I haven't decided if this is a
good thing or not. There's a lot of nostalgia value to it, but neither guy
can perform up to past standards. I hate to see these two go at it just to
hear Piper say "I scare Flair!" again.
Is Benoit on his way out of the Horsemen? That's the vibe I'm getting.
I hope none of you people are actually expecting Rodman to show up on
Nitro? You know all we're gonna get is these short, pointless video
snippets.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bottom Line: The early ratings return for this week show that both drew
about what they did last week. It's another win for Nitro, which was no real
surprise, but they did draw somewhat below what they would normally for a
post-PPV show (approximately a 3.5). They also failed to draw viewers away
from RAW again. This is surprising since the ECW didn't show up this week,
yet RAW scored just as well as last week (something around a 2.4 average).
Obviously Shawn Michaels' return held some viewers, but it did so with no
advance warning over the last week. The second hour was the strongest for
both shows.
Uncensored has gotten a lot of positive reviews, mostly because it wasn't as
bad as everyone figured it would be. I listened to about 60% of it over the
'Net via Realaudio and my take is that it was probably a middle-of-the-road,
solid, average card. The main event, though not as bad as the last two
years, was still something of a mess. I told you that Hogan's involvement
would change the rules, and it did. As far as I know, the "over-the-top-
rope" method of elimination was never mentioned until the PPV itself. Why
was WCW not allowed to choose a replacement? Sting coming down on that cable
looks as goofy as when the Undertaker did it at Survivor Series.
On Rodman's involvement at Uncensored: ESPN's Sportscenter ran a very brief
mention of it at the very end of their show the next morning. The announcers
had a hard time not laughing, and one of them called WCW "the rinkydink
federation."
I also caught "The Sportswriters" on the Midwest Sports Channel. It's a
roundtable discussion show much like ESPN's "The Sports Reporters," and it
features a group of grizzled old sports writers who spout of on the sports
topics of the week. One of the younger ones, who writes for the Chicago Sun-
Times, accompanied Rodman to the Uncensored PPV. He displayed a Rodman NWO
t-shirt, and showed a collection of photos of the wrestlers he hung out
with, including Flair, Nash, the Giant, and Eddie Guerrero. He said he saw
the guys "working out their moves earlier in the day," and mentioned that
Eddie Guerrero apparently tore either a bicep or pectoral muscle. He said
all the guys went out together after the show. They showed some brief
footage of Rodman choking Piper, and he had to explain to all the rest how
Hogan was now a "bad guy." He said Kevin Nash told him how he regretted not
being able to watch the NCAA basketball tournament games because of his
schedule.
Steve Austin appeared on "Newsportalk" with Chet Coppick. Austin pretty much
stayed in character. He listed Harley Race, Dory Funk Jr., Bob Orton Jr.,
Ricky Steamboat and Jake Roberts (in his prime) as guys he admired. He also
told a caller who asked about ECW that he didn't think it took all that
much talent to work there. When asked what he thought about Paul Heyman,
he more or less said that he'd worked with Paul before and that it was no
big deal. Perhaps most surprising was his refusual to say anything bad about
Hulk Hogan. It was Austin's opinion that Hogan was just "doing his thing,"
that he's meant a lot to wrestling, and that was okay with Austin. He talked
about being fired from WCW over the phone, and how he thought the
"Ringmaster" gimmick he first had in the WWF sucked. He said he would never
go back to WCW, no matter how much money they offered him. He also talked
about unnerving Bret Hart. They showed some footage of Austin in the Royal
Rumble, and a clip from RAW which took place during the cage match. Austin
also watched a snippet of Rodman at Uncensored and gave the opinion that
Rodman's involvement in WCW would draw little overall interest. Austin felt
the NWO angle was getting stale.
From the rumor mill over the last week or so:
- Disco Inferno was the one fired from WCW.
- Brian Clark (Adam Bomb) is the newcomer to WCW.
- Vader was the one strip searched at an airport.
- Steve Williams was arrested for possession of a whole load of
painkillers.
- Jake Roberts was fired by the WWF.
I only mention these because people have E-Mailed me about them.
Finally, imagine my surprise Monday Night when while flipping channels I
came across this week's episode of Extreme Championship Wrestling! The local
cable company carries a station called KBSU, which is programmed by the
local Bemidji State University. On occasion they run a feed from something
called "N1" which stands for "Network One." It's a prepackaged schedule of
"alternative" TV programming. They carry music videos, bikini contests late
at night, old talk shows, vintage movies, Japanese Animation, and ECW. KBSU
only carries the feed a few times a week for a few hours at a time. ECW airs
on N1 Mondays at 7:00 PM Eastern, and Fridays at 11:00 PM Eastern. This week
they just happened to be carrying the feed at the right time. N1 has a web
site at "www.N1.com" and shows a list of stations across the country that
carries their feed. Their web site hasn't been updated recently though.
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This Week's Winner: RAW.
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